


Unexpected Temperatures

by torib0o



Series: KlanceWeek2k16 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Conflict Resolution, Feelings, Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 09:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7679527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torib0o/pseuds/torib0o
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for KlanceWeek2k16.</p><p>Prompt: Red/Blue</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Temperatures

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I just realized it was Klance week, like this morning? This is the fastest I've written a fic in years, so it's unbeta'd.

Lance had always loved blue.

 

It was the color of the sky, reflected in the oceans he loved so dearly. It was calming. Even when at the Garrison, so many miles from home, it soothed his aching heart to know that his family could look up at any time and see the same blue sky he was seeing.

 

When he was named the paladin of the blue lion, Lance felt it was fated. Silly though it may have been, the instant connection he felt to blue only cemented his thoughts and feelings about the color. Other colors had never held much significance to Lance until he saw Keith in his stupid, red jacket.

 

It was somewhat fitting that Keith wore red, Lance thought in the recesses of his mind, because that was the color he saw when Keith was in his presence.

 

His cocky attitude, his effortless ability to surpass the rest of the class, the way he refused to acknowledge his peers, it all drove Lance up a wall.

 

When Allura described the character of the paladins, Lance scoffed. Keith was temperamental, like his lion, and certainly relied on instinct more than learned skill, but it was part of what made him a dangerous pilot at times.

 

It simply fired him up.

 

Keith, however, did not feel the same way towards Lance.

 

Keith could admit to himself that he'd lied when he first saw Lance months after getting expelled from the Garrison.

 

He had remembered him.

 

The cargo pilot who sat three seats in front of him, who couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut for the life of him, and made fun of their instructors when they had their backs turned.

 

Keith had never been one to follow rules mindlessly. He challenged people and their authority, but when Lance joined his classes, Keith felt himself mysteriously calm.

 

When he was angry, it felt as though his body was on fire, then soothed by cool water in Lance’s presence.

 

Despite how calm Lance made feel when the blue paladin was speaking to others, Keith felt fire swell in his chest when Lance addressed him.

 

Lance liked to poke and prod, to tease him and annoy and Keith had yet to understand why, but he always rose the occasion and snapped back. He knew it annoyed the others, but as far as Keith was concerned there was nothing wrong with it. He and Lance didn't truly hate each other, didn't even dislike each other, so why couldn't they stop arguing.

 

Keith needed to address this.

 

Asking Lance for a spar to work on their hand-to-hand skills didn't seem like a terribly bad idea, but after tossing Lance on his ass several times, the blue paladin was annoyed.

 

"I knew this was a bad idea!" Lance huffed. "You only asked me so you could throw me around!"

 

Keith frowned. "I only asked you because I knew you needed help in hand-to-hand combat. You're being a baby. Get up."

 

Keith crossed the floor and extended a hand to Lance to help him off the floor, but Lance ignored it and hopped up on his own.

 

"We don't even need hand-to-hand! As long as I've got my bayard, I'll be fine!"

 

"You need to be well-rounded," Keith argued.

 

This was not how he'd wanted this to go.

 

"You don't need to tell me what I need to be! I know what I need to be!" Lance huffed. "That's your problem, Keith! You wanna know what your problem is? 'Cause I'll tell you! You always think you're so much smarter, so much better, so much...everything more!"

 

Keith stared at Lance for a long moment, arms crossed over his chest as he exhaled softly.

 

"I don't hate you," Keith said calmly, jolting Lance.

 

"What?"

 

The blue paladin frowned deeply as heat spread throughout his limbs. He hadn't been expecting that.

 

"I don't hate you," Keith repeated. "I don't have any reason to dislike you. I was trying to help you because I know you need help, not because I think I'm better than you. We're a team, Lance."

 

Lance huffed. "I know we're a team! I don't need you telling me that, you-"

 

"Then why are you mad? You can't be the best when you're just getting started."

 

He felt that strange calm, that cool water wash over him despite Lance's anger. Keith pushed his hair from his eyes and exhaled quietly.

 

"Why are you angry? Do I piss you off that much? I can't even try to help you out without you biting at me," he said as he removed his gloves.

 

"I don't know," Lance mumbled, having calmed a bit.

 

Keith lifted his eyes and arched a brow.

 

"I don't hate you either, but it just pisses me off how you're so good at everything and you don't even try."

 

"Lance, what the hell are you talking about? I bust my ass training. I always have. It's not like I just...was just good at fighting or handling a knife when I woke up one morning. I train and you need to train if you want to stop blaming me for your shortcomings because they're not my fault. I'm here to help you, though. We're friends."

 

Lance stared at Keith and felt the heat in his body slowly fade away. He knew Keith was right, that he'd been taking his frustration with himself out on someone who didn't deserve it.

 

What would his mother think if she could see him?

 

"I'm sorry," Lance apologized as he stood. "You're right. You don't deserve that."

 

"It's fine," Keith replied. "Now, let's get back to training."

 

It went like that for weeks. When they weren't liberating planets from Zarkon's rule, Keith and Lance found themselves on the training deck. They worked on their hand-to-hand combat and co-fighting against the simulator and Lance found that Keith was right. His patience and effort was paying off.

 

As they lied side by side on the floor of the training deck after a particularly difficult round with the simulator one evening, Lance heaved a breath.

 

"That was a good one. You were on tonight," the blue paladin said softly.

 

Keith turned his head to Lance and smirked. "Yeah? You were too. I don't know. I just felt really...hot tonight. I had a ton of energy."

 

"Really?" Lance asked. "I felt super calm. It was like I could see everything really clearly. My mind was clear."

 

The two looked at one another and smiled widely. It was unclear who began laughing first, but it wasn't long before the both of them were full out chuckling, the leftover energy in their bodies needing an escape.

 

When Keith opened his eyes, Lance was so close. He could see the sweat beaded on the other's lip, his slick hair, the wrinkles in the creases of his eyes as he laughed. In that moment, Lance was breathtaking and before he could consider the action, Keith pressed his mouth to Lance's.

 

The laughter in him died and his eyes snapped open only to be met with Keith's eyelids. Questions bubbled up in him, shooting off faster than he had time to process them, but he ignored his mind in favor of his body.

 

He felt that heat again, that fire in his veins and he realized now that he’d misread himself. Maybe he had partially been taking his frustrations out on Keith, but Lance realized now that beneath that frustration was attraction and desire.

 

He moaned softly and opened his mouth to Keith as he wrapped his arms around him. He felt that raw, red heat quell as Keith’s tongue, surprisingly cool, meet his own.

 

Keith inhaled sharply as warmth overcame him. He hadn’t imagined Lance would be so warm, but he welcomed it.

 

When mouths separated and they lied on their backs once more, staring at each other, they were quiet. There was far too much that needed to be said, but as fingers clasped and eyes shut, they decided it could all wait for the morning as red fire was soothed by blue water.


End file.
